Says complaints are from AMD, not customers, and the market is doing perfectly fine.

In response to a statement
of objections (SO) served by the European Commission yesterday regarding
anti-competitive practices, Intel senior vice president and general counsel
Bruce Sewell issued the following statement:

"We are confident that the
microprocessor market segment is functioning normally and that Intel's conduct
has been lawful, pro-competitive, and beneficial to consumers. While we would
certainly have preferred to avoid the cost and inconvenience of establishing
that our competitive conduct in Europe has been lawful, the Commission's
decision to issue a Statement of Objections means that at last Intel will have
the opportunity to hear and respond to the allegations made by our primary
competitor.

“The case is based on complaints
from a direct competitor rather than customers or consumers. The Commission has
an obligation to investigate those complaints. However, a Statement of
Objections contains only preliminary allegations and does not itself amount to
a finding that there has been a violation of European Union law. Intel will now
be given the chance to respond directly to the Commission's concerns as part of
the administrative process. The evidence that this industry is fiercely
competitive and working is compelling. When competitors perform and execute the
market rewards them. When they falter and under-perform the market responds
accordingly."

According to a 2004 article in BusinessWeek, the European
Commission began investigating Intel as early as 2001, although the initial
probe was dropped.
Things picked
up again in 2004, which culminated in a raid
of Intel’s European offices in 2005.

AMD hopes the charges filed will benefit consumers. "We
are confident that this statement of objections will be a catalyst in opening
the global microprocessor markets for the benefit of consumers and PC companies
alike,” says AMD EMEA president Giuliano Meroni.

AMD has filed
complaints in numerous countries accusing Intel of behavior that has hurt AMD’s
ability to compete on a level playing field. A series of documents
(PDF) filed in US courts detail numerous accusations, including Intel’s supposed attempts to conditionally
offer volume discounts for near-exclusivity, and delaying OEM product launches
that contained competing hardware.

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